Author
Topic: Inwald (Read 651 times)

Sklounion

For some years, it has been the case, that Josef Inwald has been seen as an originally Swedish company, which started a glass-works in Havlickuv Brod in 1862.

Sometimes in research, the veil is lifted by hard work, sometimes from a hunch. On Friday, whilst punching in various frustratingly poorly rewarded search terms, the page scrolled down and a name appeared. Thinking "Oh well, a speculative e-mail can't hurt", I wrote asking about family connections.

To-day I got a reply, which will mean we have to do much more digging in Poland.

The origins of the Inwald family are not Swedish, but Polish, originating in the small western Polish town of Bedzin. There was some European movement of the family, between 1780 and 1800.

Why this may be of serious importance, is that Bedzin is situated in the heart of the traditional Polish glass-making region, lying in a rough triangle formed by Stronie Slaskie, Zawiercie and Katowice.

I feel this may go some way towards explaining why a seemingly Swedish company got involved in the glass-making industry in the first place, but also good regional knowledge may well have suggested to Josef Inwald that he would find highly skilled workers in Bohemia.

As yet, we have not established a connection to any Inwald plant in Poland, but initial soundings regarding this new information are extremely positive.

I hope this small break-through will help others to reveal more information regarding Josef Inwald and Company.